U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., arrived in the halls of Congress in January 2009 on a full head of steam as the U.S. economy plummeted into the depths of the Great Recession.

With a missionary's zeal, Himes, who represents the Fourth District that includes most of Fairfield and some of New Haven counties, put his background on Wall Street -- 12 years with Goldman Sachs -- to work as a majority member of the House Financial Services Committee. Soon he found himself playing a key role in crafting the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act's language that for the first time brought the high-flying derivatives market under a measure of regulatory control.

That all came screeching to a halt in the 2010 election, when Republicans built on frustration with President Barack Obama and seized control of the House.

Now, as a minority Democrat, Himes is mostly on the sidelines as the Republican chairman, Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, steers the committee on a course of libertarian conservatism. Hensarling's agenda includes full frontal assaults on Dodd-Frank, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the Export-Import Bank.

`Principled libertarian'

"Jeb is a principled libertarian ... I don't say that condescendingly," Himes said in an interview. "There are a lot of people around here who say they're libertarian but they're not. Jeb says he's libertarian and he is. And I really respect that."

The agenda has in large measure put Hensarling at odds with Big Business -- the GOP's traditional ally. Business interests are particularly incensed over Hensarling's bid not to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, which supports $37 billion in exports and more than 200,000 American jobs through loans and loan guarantees to foreign states and enterprises purchasing American products.

Connecticut exports backed by Ex-Im financing have totaled $2 billion since 2007. The state's top beneficiary is Sikorsky International Products, which provides maintenance and support to nation's overseas purchasing Sikorsky aircraft. Ex-Im supported 103 Connecticut exporters in that time -- more than half of which were small businesses.

The bank's defenders say its loan-default rate is a minuscule 0.2 percent and Ex-Im actually is a money-maker, returning more than $1 billion last year to the U.S. Treasury through fees and interest payments.

`Unilateral disarmament'

But Hensarling insists the bank is Exhibit A in what he calls the culture of "crony capitalism," in which large enterprises use lobbying and insider connections in Washington to gain advantages unavailable to Main Street businesses. Hensarling indicts the government for "picking winners and losers." All of America's chief competitors overseas benefit from favorable financing deals available through their own governments' credit agencies. Failure to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, whose charter expires Sept. 30, would amount to "unilateral disarmament" in the face of competition from China, France, Korea and a host of others, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in an open letter to Congress last month.

"This is a jobs issue," said Christopher Wenk, the chamber's senior director for international policy. "When I talk to state and local chambers, they scratch their heads that this is even controversial."

But Hensarling is unfazed. "I didn't come to Washington to be loved and I haven't been disappointed," he said with a laugh in a phone interview. The new House Majority Leader, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and 2014 GOP vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., are on board in opposition to authorizing Ex-Im, giving Hensarling a measure of political cover.

When speaking about Hensarling, Himes chooses his words carefully.

"I'll accept Jeb's argument that there's a more perfect world where no countries are subsidizing their exporters," Himes said. "However, it's not this world." Apart from playing defense on Dodd-Frank and Ex-Im, Himes is putting his chips on preserving a government role in the housing finance market.

Himes' Partnership to Strengthen Homeownership Act, introduced last month along with several Democratic co-sponsors, would phase out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which required a federal bailout of $189 billion in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

Lowering risk

But some of their functions would be vested in Ginnie Mae -- the Government National Mortgage Association, which is a HUD entity serving as guarantor of pools of federally insured loans. Risk to taxpayers would be lowered, though not entirely eliminated.

By contrast, Hensarling's PATH Act (Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act) would close Fannie and Freddie and take taxpayers out of the risk loop altogether. The bill relies on market incentives and lowered barriers for private capital to expand its mortgage loan business, while preserving the Federal Housing Administration's "countercyclical" role, as well as its mission to help first-time homebuyers or those with low-to-moderate incomes.

In pushing his agenda, Hensarling finds himself on uncertain political terrain. An ambitious sixth-term lawmaker who considered competing for a House leadership position after former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost his primary bid, Hensarling might lose all hope of advancement if he compromises.

On the other hand, House Republican leadership earlier this year usurped his role in flood-insurance legislation and forged a compromise with Democrats after homeowners squawked that the Hensarling-backed 2012 bill had forced rates to skyrocket.

"All I know to do is wake up and put a smile on my face and fight for free enterprise," Hensarling said. "I'm privileged to have this position in Washington, but I'm not going to shut up."

Himes said he believes Hensarling is capable of finding a middle ground.

"I've worked with Jeb on some budget issues, and my gut is that at some point he does act as the statesman and accepts compromise, but that's just my guess," he said.

Asked whether he could cite an example over the past year, Himes smiled and replied: "No."

Dan Freedman, is the national editor in Hearst Newspapers' Washington bureau, can be reached at 202-263-6400 or at dan@hearstdc.com